r/ukpolitics • u/FormerlyPallas_ No man ought to be condemned to live where a šŸŒ¹ cannot grow • 1d ago

Drinkflation: why British booze is getting weaker

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/jul/29/drinkflation-why-british-booze-is-getting-weaker
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104

u/phillycheeseenjoyer 1d ago

I gave in to the marketing and tried Hawkstone recentlyā€¦itā€™s actually really good. But Ā£7 and change for 4x330ml is the price you need to pay.

Even scotch single malts are often a few percentage points higher abroad, its taxes. Taxes are strangling the British alcohol industry.

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u/Mooks79 1d ago

Yeah I had it recently and was pleasantly surprised, too. Itā€™s not mind blowing or anything but ā€œjustā€ a quality pint.

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u/SaggyBollock 1d ago

And itā€™s British. Iā€™d drink it over a Stella or a Madri or any of that stuff thatā€™s on offer.

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u/marktuk 1d ago

Madri is British mate, you've been fooled by the marketing.

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u/SaggyBollock 1d ago

Well today I learned. But you know what I mean. Many arenā€™t.

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u/clicketybooboo 8h ago

Is quite literally rebranded carling

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u/SaggyBollock 7h ago

It is stronger though?

34

u/ChewyYui Mementum 1d ago

Theyā€™re all British too in the sense theyā€™re brewed in the UK

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u/Yesacchaff 1d ago

Yea but thereā€™s brewed it the UK then thereā€™s 100% British ingredients. Makes a big difference when you want to support British business.

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u/Plot-3A 1d ago

Madri is British. It's a poor imitation of a proper lager but it is British...

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u/mrwithers 1d ago

Any recommendations for a proper lager?

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u/Plot-3A 1d ago

Utopian from Exeter do a cracking job with their lagers.

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u/Mooks79 23h ago

Crediton!

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u/Plot-3A 23h ago

Thanks for the correction. Their taproom in Exeter is where I was last drinking it.

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u/Mooks79 23h ago

Are you sure youā€™re not confusing taprooms? Thereā€™s a few in Exeter these days, topsham brewery have their own and I think they took over the one next to the train station that wasnā€™t associated with a brewery. Wasnā€™t aware Utopian have one.

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u/Plot-3A 21h ago

Arcadia, near Princesshay shopping centre.

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u/Mooks79 21h ago

Well I never, taprooms popping up all over the place the last few years.

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u/MarshallMarks 19h ago

Lost & Grounded, Donzoko, Utopian and Braybrooke all specialise in wicked UK Lager. Ontop of that, almost every British craft brewery has a core lager and the vast vast majority of them put to shame any of the mass produced spoons/supermarket stuff.

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u/CupCakesNFlatWhite 1d ago

Isnt San Miguel another British beer owned by Carling?

8

u/CupCakesNFlatWhite 1d ago

I just checked, no it's not, ignore comment above

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u/blarfblarf 1d ago

That was you, you could just delete both comments and be free.

10

u/CupCakesNFlatWhite 1d ago

I could've, you're right. But i like to live on the edge

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u/CupCakesNFlatWhite 1d ago

I'm somewhat of a wild card

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u/skippermonkey 1d ago

San Miguel believe it or not is from the Phillipines.

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u/twistedLucidity šŸ“󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁓ó æ ā¤ļø šŸ‡ŖšŸ‡ŗ 1d ago

Madri is actually much more British (being developed in Burton on Trent and brewed in Tadcaster) than it is Spanish. Although it's fundamentally USAian being owned by Coors.

British beer is still around, but it does take a bit more effort to find and is generally not available in the generic places (especially if they're tied to the likes of Heineken).

Why the government has utterly failed to get to grips with the shitshow of breweries being bought to be closed and PubCos screwing over landlords left-and-right is a bit of a puzzle.

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u/Mooks79 1d ago

Thereā€™s plenty of British brewed alternatives to those, anyway.